


Comfort from a ghost boy

by dannyphantomyeetme



Series: #thesquad UFS [4]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23448205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dannyphantomyeetme/pseuds/dannyphantomyeetme
Summary: Wes is the one who needs comfort, for once.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Wesley Weston
Series: #thesquad UFS [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686805
Kudos: 86





	Comfort from a ghost boy

Wes never tells Danny not to cry.

He didn’t tell Danny not to cry when Danny told Wes about his future self coming back to kill his friends and family. He didn’t tell Danny not to cry when Danny realised how far he’d gone while fighting Vlad that one time (too far). He never tells Danny not to cry when Danny’s feeling particularly bad about himself, either.

But Danny’s never seen Wes cry. Not with real, unadulterated tears. So when Wes stops with a jolt in front of Danny’s bedroom door, stares at it blankly for a moment, and then begins to sniffle, Danny’s first, panicked reaction is: “Hey, hey! Don’t cry!”

He regrets the words immediately, but Wes doesn’t even seem to have heard him. He’s full-on sobbing now. Danny’s up and standing next to him in less than a second, pulling him into his arms and Wes, who’s taller and stronger than he is (when he doesn’t use his ghost strength, at least), comes without even really needing the nudge.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asks, and Wes doesn’t say anything for a moment. He’s already calming down, his crying turning into a frustrated sort of gasping, and Danny rubs his back and tries to convey all his worry and love just through that one touch. “Wes, talk to me.”

“I can’t fucking play basketball,” Wes says.

He says it like he thinks he’s being stupid, in this small voice like he doesn’t want Danny to hear it, and Danny holds him tighter.

His first instinct is to say ‘I’m sorry’. Because this is his fault. Wes’s ankle wouldn’t be busted if Danny had just looked out for him a little better, had just grabbed him out of the way before Plasmius could shoot ecto rays at him. Hell, if he’d just convinced Wes to stay home…

But those are self-centered thoughts. Thoughts that won’t help Wes. And if Danny says 'Sorry’, Wes will be the one comforting him.

Wes doesn’t need that right now.

“It’s okay,” Danny says. “It’s okay, babe.”

“It’s not okay! I can’t-” Wes takes a deep breath. His face is hidden against Danny’s hair, and the exhale tickles against Danny’s forehead. “I _need_ to be able to play, okay? I can’t- I don’t wanna be stuck in my head like this.”

“Like how?” Danny asks.

He knows Wes worries about a lot of things. About everything. He shoots up wide awake in the middle of the night just because he thinks of something to worry about sometimes.

And he knows Wes has been restless! It’s been apparent through everything.

But somehow the two didn’t seem related until now.

Danny has never claimed to be smart.

“You know how,” Wes says, and Danny does know, but he wants Wes to talk about it. “My mind just- I come up with these terrible scenarios. And then I can’t stop thinking about them,” Wes says. “And when I play basketball I just- I don’t _think_.”

“Okay,” Danny says, thinking. Then, louder: “Okay. So let’s play.”

“I can’t. My ankle-”

“Sit down and let me worry about something for a second.”

Wes does sit down, a look on his face that Danny can’t quite place. Danny leaves the room and when he comes back, he’s holding a small basketball hoop and a small ball in his hands. They’re meant for children, and they’ve been catching dust in a hallway closet for over five years.

Danny feels lucky to have a father who refuses to get rid of anything, ever.

“Here,” he says, throwing the ball in Wes’s direction. Wes catches it, looking on in apparent surprise.

“What is-?”

“Shh,” Danny says.

And there he goes shushing Wes again, but Wes doesn’t seem to mind.

The hoop is easy enough to hang up. Danny doesn’t have any screws, but he turns the thing intangible and pushes the hooks just slightly into the door before making it tangible again. Then, still floating in mid-air because otherwise he couldn’t reach high enough comfortably, he turns to Wes.

“Ta-da!”

“Danny,” Wes says. He’s using that voice he uses when he thinks Danny’s being an idiot… but he’s smiling. “You- thanks.”

“And if you really wanna play outdoors, I’ll just carry you around on my back,” Danny says. He doesn’t think Wes will be able to play very well if they try that, but it’s better than nothing. “And there’s always flying. Anytime.”

“Thank you,” Wes says again. He throws the ball, and Danny catches it. “It’s not the same but it- I think it’ll help.”

“And if it doesn’t, just talk to me,” Danny says. “I wanna know about your every worry, okay? Always. I-" 

And he cuts himself off, then. He can’t quite bring himself to say it, but they both know what he means.


End file.
